"Ricky Walker and His Ralston Rocket," by Mary Penn

Name: "Ricky Walker and His Ralston Rocket," by Mary Penn
Start: 2025-08-18T18:30:00-05:00
Location: 128 Washington Square, Washington, IL, United States, Illinois 61571

Schedule

Mon, 18 Aug, 2025 at 06:30 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

128 Washington Square, Washington, IL, United States, Illinois 61571 | Washington, IL

The story of Washington’s Ricky Walker and his “Ralston Rocket” is almost too much to believe. In 1953, a 10-year-old Ricky Walker entered a contest sponsored by Ralston Purina to win a huge “rocket” just like the one featured on the wildly popular television and radio show, Space Patrol. The contest, announced on September 19, 1953, asked kids to name “Planet X,” home of the show’s arch villain. Ricky liked to enter contests, and so, like children all over the country, he entered this one. And... he won! The next steps were incredible: a visit to his house by executives from Ralston Purina, news media coverage from across the globe, a feature story in Life magazine, and a local holiday dedicated to the arrival of the rocket known as “Ricky Walker Day” in Washington.
This incredible story has it all: the thrill of a local boy winning a national contest, a community rallying around this improbable event, and all the nostalgia of the 1950s (cereal contests! Space! Television!). Clearly, this is a story that needs telling, and Mary Penn has told it!
Lifelong Washington resident Mary Penn has written and illustrated a delightful children’s book all about Ricky Walker and his rocket. The Historical Society is proud to host a program all about the story of Ricky Walker and his rocket. Of course, Mary will read her new book to those assembled!
This program will have you smiling from ear to ear. You won’t want to miss it!